During the American Civil War in 1862, it was the site of what became known as the Huntsville Massacre.

The city is named after Huntsville, Alabama, the hometown of some early settlers.

[6] Huntsville is located north of the center of Madison County in the northwest part of the Arkansas Ozarks.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,879 people, 866 households, and 517 families residing in the city.

32.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

[12] The Huntsville Municipal Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) southwest of Huntsville's central business district.